Twelve FailSafe Ways to Charm Witches
by The Duckster
Summary: Ron/Hermione. missing moments How Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH. Him first putting it's contents to use Hermione shows up in chapter 5, so it's humor at first and then Romance
1. Prologue: In times of Need

Title:Prologue: In times of Need

Fandom:Harry Potter

Characters:Hermione and Ron

Prompt: 96 - Need

Word Count: 973

Rating:T

Summary:Ron/Hermione. Missing Moments, A story of how Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH and him first putting it's contents to use. She shows up in chapter 5, but he has to have time to read the book before she shows up so it's humor at first and then Romance.

Author's Notes:I started and abandoned this about 6 months ago but I've decided to revive it as I work on my prompts. Minor changes have been made but not much except for proof reading, which I always do a horrid job on. *shrug*

Twelve Fail-Safe Ways of Charming Witches.

Prologue: In times of Need

Ron was lying on top of his bed, the residue of his angered goodbye at kings cross station mixed and swirled miserably around with his regret and self pity inside him. Their fight had been about something completely stupid, like always. It had been a sombre but pleasant ride home on the Hogwart's express that afternoon. Harry was staring out the window thinking, Ron was sure of it, noble and self sacrificing thoughts. This had left Ron and Hermione to talk quietly between the two of them for a while. It had been the rockiest year yet between the two of them and this long and quiet meandering talk had felt like a soothing balm on their relationship.

He should have known it was too good to be true. Ron flipped hastily onto his side and punched the pillow he had been adjusting. _'Why couldn't I have just kept my stupid mouth shut?' _He slowly began to think over their departure that afternoon.

"So how long before you make your appearance at the Burrow this summer?" He'd asked her nervously fidgeting with the rucksack on his shoulder. He didn't meet her eyes. Ron knew his cheeks were turning red. _'Damn it' _He thought _'why can't I just stay normal colored for 5 minutes?' _

"I mean Ginny said she'd invited you and I was just wondering..." He let his voice trail off into nothing as he finally met her gaze. He hadn't expected the expression on her face to be filled with so pain. Panic began to rise within him _'Did she not WANT to come to the Burrow?' _"I was just wondering how much of my summer will be nagging free s'all."_ 'Why did I say that?Why is it every time things are going well I have to act like some kind of prat?'_

Hermione tried to chuckle but the pain in her eyes seemed to have only increased by her forced laughter. "I have a few things to take care of, but it should only be a week or two." She said vaguely. She had turned to look back at her Mom and Dad who were talking to Ron's dad who was apparently telling them a story that involved his arms flying around animatedly.

Her vague response annoyed him. Hermione was rarely vague, usually she went on and on in great detail about how exactly she was doing the precisely right thing. The only times Ron could think of Hermione being this withholding of information was whenever Viktor Krum had been involved.

He had tried endlessly to find out who had asked her to the Yule Ball only to have it be the oversized ox had asked her during one of his stalking sessions in the library. Two summers ago she had dodged his questions about her plans for the holiday and when she'd arrived at Grimmauld Place it was only then he discovered she'd just returned from spending two weeks in Bulgaria with Vicky.

"Yeah you wouldn't wanna head off to fight the worst dark wizard in history without snogging Vicky for a bit would you?" Ron kicked a stray piece of litter on the pavement and could hear his own voice dripping with bitter resentment. He didn't take his eyes off his shoes for a while but when he finally looked up at her it was to see that her face had transformed from sorrowful anguish to pure and unbridled rage.

"We haven't seen...How dare... For you information... " Hermione's eyes narrowed further, the anger in her voice seemed to carry with it too much emotion to complete any specific sentence and instead she pulled her lips into a tight frown. "Good bye Ronald, enjoy your holiday. I hope you choke one of Phlegm's Tranche Rainbow Tarts." And without another look grabbed her trunk and headed over to their families where after a giving quick hugs to Ginny and Mrs. Weasley she departed for the muggle parking lot with her parents.

Ron attempted to pushed away the memory, he'd watched her walk away without a single look back at him. His Parents, Ginny, Fred and George had all started leaving toward the taxi's waiting for them but Ron had just stood rooted to the spot watching her until she turned a corner and he couldn't see her anymore. Then he just stared off, memorizing the spot she'd disappeared at.

There was a knock on Ron's bedroom door which pulled him out of his memory and back onto the bed he was laying on. "What?" He shouted grumpily. Ron was perfectly happy wallowing in his misery and wished the whole world was just leave him to it for a bit.

The door opened without waiting for an invitation. It was Fred and George. _'Great, yes this is exactly what I need right now.' _Just as Ron finished sitting up a book landed in his lap.

"Thought you might benefit from a bit of light reading." Fred chuckled as the twins exchanged a smile.

He turned the book so he could read the large gold emblazoned letters across the front. "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches" Ron felt his ears grow warm with embarrassment.

"Dead useful stuff in there too." This time it was George who spoke. "Not that I ever needed it, couldn't keep the ladies off of me if I wanted to, witches or muggles. But it can't come naturally to all of us, so there you go."

"I don't need..." Ron began in protest but was cut off by Fred.

"We saw you at the station little brother, and yes you do." Without another word the twins left his room. Ron looked down at the leather bound book in his lap._ 'What could it hurt?'_


	2. Lookin' Good

Title: Lookin' Good

Fandom:Harry Potter

Characters:Hermione and Ron

Prompt: 16 - Purple

Word Count: 1198

Rating:K

Summary:Ron/Hermione. Missing Moments, A story of how Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH and him first putting it's contents to use. She shows up in chapter 5, but he has to have time to read the book before she shows up so it's humor at first and then Romance.

Author's Notes:I started and abandoned this about 6 months ago but I've decided to revive it as I work on my prompts. Minor changes have been made but not much except for proof reading, which I always do a horrid job on. *shrug*

_Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches._

_Lookin' Good_

A loud bombardment of rapid banging echoed deafeningly into Ron's ear's. "Wake up." His mother's overly bright voice added above the cacophony of her beating fist on his wooden door.

"Five more..." he paused as he registered the overwhelming exhaustion weighing deeply upon his body. "hours, five more hours." But he knew she wouldn't let him remain in the warm cocoon of coziness the mass of blankets and down pillows that he'd created for himself.

"It's after 9, and there is much too much to be done around here for you to sleep the morning away. Get downstairs quickly or I'm feeding your breakfast to the garden gnomes."

He groaned loudly and stretched, his long legs dangled off the end of his bed. As he sat up and was about to _scourgify_ his socks from the day before and pull them across his toe pam packed toes but paused as his eyes rested on the book Fred and George had given him the afternoon before. He'd flipped through _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, _perusing all the chapter headings and subsections, he had lingered for quite some time _Chapter 12: Kissing, Keys for turning Klueless into Kasanova_. he had eventually decided it was best to start from square one since that's where he seemed to be stuck with Hermione.

Ron had felt completely ridiculous doing so and if he hadn't been reading this post his horrifying good bye at Kings cross station, in front of his family, which had been so bad even Fred and George seemed not to have the heart to torment him about it.

One of the sub headings had been _Witches worth wowin' want you showerin'. _So with a sigh of resignation Ron dropped his day old socks into the hamper and descended the stairs until he came to the landing where, across from Ginny's bedroom, was the burrows only bathroom.

A few minutes later Ron was standing in the shower. The warm water flowing over him as his eyes fixed upon the multitude of products contained there in a dazed sort of way. This had never been a problem before. He typically used the over-sized mint green bottle that had always been there with out any hesitation or deep thought on the matter. After reading Chapter Onewhich consisted of 46 pages on self improvement and personal grooming it suddenly seemed like an overwhelming task just to select a hair cleansing potion or skin scrubbing tonic.

It seemed that while all seven of the various Weasley men hadn't had a problem all using the same two in one skin and hair potion that came in the aforementioned over-sized mint green bottle, the three women currently residing at the burrow had a larger selection then the local muggle market. There were Ginny's variously sized bottles in clashing shades of neon labeled with flashing labels, then Fleur's elegantly shaped long necked bottles of coordinating deep plum and shining silver with intricate ivy etchings labeled in delicate looping letters. His mother's all seemed to have pictures of middle ages witches who were smiling widely and tossing their hair from side to side.

He tentatively picked up one of Ginny's, the orange bottle was flashing between "Curl n' Hold"and "Decisive n' Bold" deciding he wasn't interested in curls that were bold. He returned it to the shelf and then pulled out the stopper on one of the larger of Fleur's plum colored bottles, he moved his nose forward, and sniffed deeply. He stepped back coughing, it was like his nostrils had a field of flowers shoved uncerimoniously up them. He replaced the cork quickly.

He spent a few minutes reading bottle covers, skipping over his mothers gray banishment cream before settling on a bright blue bottle of Ginny's labeled "Sleek and Shine,You're gunna be Mine" Since that was the gist of what he was going for. He used one of his mother's skin scrubbing tonic that promised to prevent wrinkles because it seemed to smell the LEAST like fruit or flowers.

After rinsing Ron turned off the water and wrapped a towel from under the sink around his waist. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He'd shaved occasionally but mostly because Seamus, and Dean had started too and it just seemed like the thing to do as well. It didn't really seemed necessary every day or at least that's what he used to think. After reading more then he ever cared too, about the subject he realized that just because his hair was still growing in scraggly patches it didn't mean he could abandon the ritual for weeks at a time. He grabbed his razor and took care of his fuzzy face.

_Foxy Fella's fight the funk. _It was on page 22 which instructed that it wasn't important just to start off the day smelling clean, you actually had to do something about keeping that fresh scent. So he pulled the spray bottle that his mother had packed at the beginning of that school year but hadn't, until that morning, ever been used. _"Dr Dillio's Destinkafying Deodorant" _It was like spraying sticky ice cubes into his armpits and he ended up hopping up and down for a minute before the sensation subsided. With a great grimace he summoned up all his courage and sprayed the other armpit, repeating his dance and breathing in short hurried breaths as if the intake of warm air would counter balance the cold feeling under his arm.

Then lastly he looked opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. _"To be dreamy your hair must be creamy" _and pulled the first jar out he touched. Feeling that he'd already made far too many decisions having not yet awake for half an hour. Scooped a sizable portion of the purple colored goo into his hand began rubbing it into his wet hair with both hands. A tingling sensation began to warm the base of his scalp he washed his sticky hands off in the sink but quickly the tingles on his scalp were suddenly uncomfortably hot and when he looked in the mirror he could see smoke rising from his hair. Panic began to rise inside of him and just as started to form a yell in his throat for his mum, a loud bang went off from the top of his head, creating a large mushroom cloud of purple smoke.

He winced as the sound and began coughing at the smoke now filling his lungs. As the smoke began to dissipatedly he opened his eyes only to find ginger colored hair surrounding him. In the sink and on the floor. On the fuzzy pink cover on the toilet seat. Real panic didn't rise in him until he notice his unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. Ron's face fell and he moved his hand up to the top of his head where it touched perfectly smooth skin. The entire contents of what had a few moments ago been his shaggy hair was gone and he was completely and perfectly smoothly bald.

"Bullocks." He swore in an extremely annoyed tone.


	3. No Complaints about Compliments

Title:No Complaints About Compliments

Fandom:Harry Potter

Characters:Hermione and Ron

Prompt: 14 - Green

Word Count: 1377

Rating:T

Summary:Ron/Hermione. Missing Moments, A story of how Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH and him first putting it's contents to use. She shows up in chapter 5, but he has to have time to read the book before she shows up so it's humor at first and then Romance.

Author's Notes:I started and abandoned this about 6 months ago but I've decided to revive it as I work on my prompts. Minor changes have been made but not much except for proof reading, which I always do a horrid job on. *shrug*

_Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches._

_No Complaints About Compliments_

He was sitting on a worn wooden chair in the middle of his kitchen. His mother had charmed the thick green paste to massage itself into his scalp whilst she consulted the package _"Follicle Faux Pa Fixer"_ had come in. Mrs. Weasley had spent quite a long time searching various places around the burrow for it but she had insisted that it was somewhere and had returned triumphant after 25 minutes of banging in cupboards and murmuring.

"Yes it says to let it massage into your scalp until it turns from a frothy minty green into a deep emerald." Mrs. Weasley murmured after carefully examining the package instructions.

Ron sank deeply into his chair. "An' how long's it say that'll take?" His voice echoed the annoyance he felt inside of him. Why did he have to listen to that stupid book? This is probably exactly what Fred and George planned. _'No, or else they wouldn't have headed back to their premises that morning. No, if they'd conjured up this moment they wouldn't miss it for the world.' _As much as Ron wanted to blame the twins for his current condition he couldn't find a rational scenario that satisfactorily gave them responsibility for his premature baldness. Nowhere in _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_ had he been instructed to rub generous amounts of _"Loretta's lasting hair removal"_ into his ginger hair.

"Well, if you'd just shaved your head I could have it back with a few flicks of my a wand but you went and cursed it off! I still don't see how you could have done it, I never, in all 5 of your older brothers had to, and not even Fred and George for all they're trouble, they at least had the sense not to curse off their own hair. It'll take days before it grows back in but in the mean time you'll have to just walk around bald as a baby's bottom. Honestly..."

His mother continued ranting but Ron's attention had wavered once she said it would be days before it would be right again. He'd feared much worse. _'At least it'll be right again when Hermione gets here.' _His heart gave a sharp pang as he remembered their goodbye at the station. It all seemed to circle back to her! How he never seemed to say the right things, and how he was the one who couldn't get over an old boyfriend she hadn't seen in over a year.

_'Okay let's give this book another go.'_ What else did his new book say. He closed his eyes, still able to feel the think goo slither around on his head of it's own accord. He strained to remember it all, but he really had just flicked quickly the bulk of it, only REALLY reading chapter one. It made sense to go in order but he couldn't be sure if Chapter 2 was on talking to girls or about proper manners. But since any advice on the two subjects he would definitely need to read up on, he settled instead on _"No complaints about compliments" _which had been Chapter 4.

_Step One: Be specific._ He turned in his chair to look at his mother. She was reading the latest witch weekly at the kitchen table amid a flurry of activity. The dishes were scrubbing themselves in the sink, a broom and dustpan were sweeping the dust and crumbs off the floor and depositing them into the rubbish bin. A knife was busy chopping vegetables for the chicken pot pie they were having that night for dinner. There was an overflowing basket of laundry folding itself into neat stacks of towels and clothes. He hadn't ever really noticed the magical prowess his mother had exhibited throughout his life but it really was rather impressive. Okay how about_ 'Mum, you are very good at the dishes!'? _

No, that didn't seem right. That wasn't all of it though, she was fixing his mistake from earlier as well as keeping a watchful eye on Ginny who was also sitting on the other end of the table staring out the window, her eggs long since turned cold and rubbery. Mrs. Weasley had noticed her only daughter's depressed state immediately. It seemed as though she was fighting an internal struggle of letting Ginny grieve in piece or smothering her with attention. His mom had even encouraged her to poke fun of Ron's predicament a little. Ginny hadn't taken the bait. She'd merely looked over, given a half smile and then returned to gazing her unfocusedly eye's out the window.

Yes Mrs. Weasley was so much more than _'good at dishes'. _

_Step Two: Reasons why. _She was a wonderful mother. He thought of Harry who's only memory of his mother was of her death, Ron's chest suddenly welled up in appreciation for his own over protective, embarrassing, medaling mother.

_Step Three: Questions for conversation:_ How was he supposed to ask her a question with that? Did he really want to have that kind of conversation with her? If not now then when? He had just a handful of weeks before the trio was going off on an attempt to bring down the most dangerous dark wizard in history. A sense of panic suddenly gripped him. What if he never had that sort of conversation with her? What if she never knew that throughout all the years, all the tantrums, the whining, the eye rolls and the exclamations of humiliation were really just _'I love you Mum's'? _He remembered her panic after the world cup and how she'd frantically hugged the twins when they got home. How she feared the last thing she'd ever said to them was filled with anger and annoyance. If he left and never had a chance to come home again, what would his last words to her be?

His mind was brought back to the present by Mrs. Weasley jumping up exclaiming that gooey gob covering his scalp was the perfect shade of emerald. She rattled on about the article she'd been reading for the last 10 minutes. He wasn't really listening to her. He had to say something. Tell her that he noticed what she does for him.

That he appreciated how she reads to them at night, every night even though they'd grown far too old for it, she reads to them. Staying with him whenever he'd been sick, whenever any of her 7 children had been ill she'd be up with them all night with a cool cloth, a bucket for their sick. The dinners that were delicious and filling that had always just been there for them warm and ready. There was probably about millions or so things he had no idea about.

"Well dear, it's not all the way back, but you've gotten a good half an inch back already. The box says you should be back to..." Mrs. Weasley was cut off by Ron.

"Mum, Thank you. You, well you're... I mean it's just... You're so good at it. I want you to know it... well not just know it, hear me say it." Ron flushed knowing the words weren't coming out right. He decided to start again. "Mum," Ron kept his eyes closed, not able to look at her. "You're smart and loving, you selflessly sacrifice until you have no more to give, even after you are long since drained yourself." Ron's words were miraculously clear now, "Thank you." Crap! He'd left of the _'question for conversation' _"What... why is it... how do you do it?" At these last words he finally looked his mother in the eyes.

Tears welled in her shocked eyes. She didn't say anything for a moment and a deep silence hung between them before Molly spoke. Pursing her lips slightly before releasing her words.

"Ronald," Her voice broke and she had to take a few deep breaths before going on. "When you love someone it is easy to give them your everything." She placed her hand onto his chin and grinned. "You already know that though, don't you?" She winked and Ron blushed. "Thank you Ron, it means a lot to hear you say that."


	4. Wand work

Title:No Complaints About Compliments

Fandom:Harry Potter

Characters:Hermione and Ron

Prompt: 27 - Parents

Word Count: 1259

Rating:T

Summary:Ron/Hermione. Missing Moments, A story of how Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH and him first putting it's contents to use. She shows up in chapter 5, but he has to have time to read the book before she shows up so it's humor at first and then Romance.

Author's Notes:I started and abandoned this about 6 months ago but I've decided to revive it as I work on my prompts. Minor changes have been made but not much except for proof reading, which I always do a horrid job on. *shrug*

_Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches._

_Wand work_

Ron took every chance he got to hone his new complimenting technique. He's told Ginny that the color of her shirt brought out her eyes. Which Ron had been really proud of until Ginny pointed out that shirt was yellow and her eyes were brown. _'Okay make sure the compliment actually makes sense, check.' _He seemed to redeem himself slightly when he said her Quaffle skills were remarkable while they played one on one Quiddich. He told his mom that her wand work with laundry was superb but that started his Mom into a step by step detailed lesson on how to do laundry. Which, she reminded him, he would have to do on his own someday, soon after he retreated to his room.

Pig was dancing around his desk, hooting wildly. He dug an owl treat out of a small jar and pet him as he gobbled it down.

" You want a letter to send huh?" Ron asked the now distracted owl. He sat down and wrote a quick note to Harry saying he was home and asking how those stupid muggle's were treating him. He rolled it up quickly and fastened it to the excited owl then opened his window for the feathery little git.

Ron sighed, the letter he really wanted to write went something like _'I miss you already, I'm so sorry for being a such a prat. Please come so I don't have to spend another minute without you.' _He leaned forward laying his head on his cluttered desk. He opened the book sitting next to him. _'Forget all the advice shite, I want some wand work.' _He thumbed through the book until he found what he was looking for. _Chapter Seven: Romance charms. _

The next hour was spent reading about the technique and theory behind Romance Charms. The text cautioned against using the spell frivolously. While it did indeed adjust a persons perception so that everything had a romantic "glow" about it. It also warned that once the charm had warn off it would be evident, if for example that they had spent the afternoon cleaning the oven and founding to be the most romantic experience of their life, then they would realize something wasn't on the level. It suggests taking an already potentially romantic event and just use the spell to turn it up a notch.

Ron's thoughts drifted to possible _'potentially romantic' _scenario's he and Hermione might encounter. After drifting over several possibilities a few of which ended in ways that, though unlikely, they did bring a lusty grin to his face. He settled on a walk through the orchard under the stars. Friends could ask friends to go for walks right? Yet he was sure that a slow meandering walk through the trees under the moonlight still had great potential for romance.

He studied the spell in the book, practicing the diagram illustrating the required wand movement repeatedly until he was fairly confident he copied it correctly. It would have to be a non verbal spell, he hated those. He would need to practice, but how?

***

A few hours later, as his mom was clearing the dinner dishes. Ron was packing up the leftovers and his mind wandered back over his predicament. His first thought had been of Bill and Fleur, being the only couple in the house but how we he know if he'd done it right? He had know way of knowing, without coming off as creepy, he already got enough flack about his sensitivity to Fleur's Veela prowess, he didn't want to ask too many questions about their romantic life.

Ron was handing the serving dishes he'd just emptied to his mom at the sink, as his mind still pondering other possibilities. _'I could wait until Harry gets here and try it out on... NO!' _He didn't even let that stray thought finish forming. He had no desire to give Harry an especially romantic nights with his baby sister. Yuck! Broken up or not he wasn't going to let his mind go there.

A knock on the kitchen door let him know his dad was finally back from work. He and Mrs. Weasley exchanged a few words in hushed tones. He distinctly heard the phrase _'Mollywobbles' _and he shuttered as his father walked in. They exchanged hello's after their day apart which he had the sense to tune out before they started talking. His mind went back to his earlier musings then suddenly it struck him. The solution had just walked through the door. His parents were a couple, I mean they were old and there's no way they had any romantic feelings after so many years but it wouldn't be too suspicious if they had a slightly romantic time together right? Even if it seemed odd, none of the suspicion would land on him right?

He pulled his wand out of his jeans pocket, flicking his wrist slightly concentrating hard to remember the books instructions exactly and non verbally cast the spell _'Romantium trulius'_ Nothing happened. He waited for a moment. Still nothing. His parents must really were too old to be romantic after all. They were just standing in the kitchen talking about their day.

"Bugger!" he muttered under his breath and then headed upstairs for bed, letting his feet drag up the worn creaky steps.

***

Ron didn't sleep well that night, he's gone to bed early but had been woken up by the wireless playing a slow Celestia Warbuck album and then shortly after drifting back into unconsciousness he'd been woken by some distant howling. _'Damn coyote's again' _he thought before falling back asleep.

***

The next morning Ron was woken up by more coyote's, although why they were howling during the day was beyond him. He ran his fingers through his now inch long hair, grabbed his towel and headed down for his now daily shower.

When he walked into the kitchen for breakfast he was greeted by the smell and sounds of the Weasley family special events morning meal. Bacon, sausage, pancakes, eggs, buckets of syrup, anything you could have possibly wanted for breakfast it was there, just like on every holiday and birthday the Weasley family had. But wait, it wasn't any special day, it was just Thursday?

"What's with the special breakfast?" He asked his, clad in her flowery dressing gown, mother who was pouring batter into the waffle maker.

"It just happens to be a wonderful morning, that's all Ron dear. Grab some food and go sit down." She turned and handed him a plate so he could start helping himself.

His father walked into the kitchen whistling happily.

"Morning Ron. How'd you sleep?" Ron was about to tell his father about his restless night of loud slow songs and howling coyotes but he stopped before the words could escape past his tongue. His father, had pulled himself up behind his mother, wrapped his arms around her he starting kissing her neck and singing the words to "cauldron of hot strong love" and Ron was very sure he once again heard the phrase "Molly wobbles"

A shiver ran up Ron's spine as things shifted uncomfortably around in his brain. The slow music, the howling. Another shiver caused him to convulse in disgust. He shoved the heaping plate of barely touched food away from him. The suddenly realization hit him like bricks. While his parents were WAY to old to be romantic still, no one had told informed them of that fact.


	5. 9 times out of 10, Just Shut up

Title:9 times out of 10, Just Shut up

Fandom:Harry Potter

Characters:Hermione and Ron

Prompt:77 – What?

Word Count: 2631

Rating:T

Summary:Ron/Hermione. Missing Moments, A story of how Ron got the book that helped him so much in the DH and him first putting it's contents to use. She shows up in chapter 5, but he has to have time to read the book before she shows up so it's humor at first and then Romance.

Author's Notes:I started and abandoned this about 6 months ago but I've decided to revive it as I work on my prompts. Minor changes have been made but not much except for proof reading, which I always do a horrid job on. *shrug*

_Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches._

_9 times out of 10, Just Shut up._

_Ron,_

_I need you._

_Hermione_

That was all Ron had needed before bolting out the burrows kitchen door. He didn't notice the ink smudges from the obvious tear drops that had since dried and had caused the paper to wrinkle oddly. Nor did he think to tell anyone where he was going. He simple read the only five words that the love of his life need ever say before he went to her.

***

Ron apparated to the park near her house she'd told him to go to in case of emergency. Her house was unplottable now so she couldn't just show him on a map where to go. The loud crack as he apparated was heard by a few neighbors but it went unnoticed as if it had just been a car back firing. She'd told him to head West on Willow Way until he came to a white house with green shutters and daffodils in the garden.

Ron stepped out of the stand of tree's he'd landed appeared in and ran in what he hoped was a Westerly direction. His long strides carried him past a set of swings, a slide and a see saw that, if he'd not had more pressing matters to attend to he would have imagined a young Hermione playing on. He glanced frantically around until he saw two streets meeting at a corner at the end of a grassy field. The sun was beginning to set behind the signs he was now squinting at, blinded by the sun sinking behind it. He sprinted, pushing his long legs to carry him quickly toward the street signs. It wasn't until he was within 7 or 8 meters that he could clearly read the white wording on the green sign. He darted down the road on his left, pumping his legs faster now that he was sure of his direction.

How far was it? How long would it be until he saw the house, until he would see her? His mind was in a blaze of panic. Red house... blue house... white house, wait it has blue shutters... tan house. The adrenaline pumping through his body was causing his mind to race more and more every second. Every moment that he hadn't found her was sending him into a deeper spiral of dizzying panic. He had to know if she was okay. He had to know if she was in trouble or if she was hurt. She would've only had asked him to come on so little information if she'd had no other option. What would cause her to call on him with no explanation of any kind? His insides shook with terror not knowing if she was alright .

Off in the distance he could make out a huddled figure sitting on a curb in front of a white washed house. His legs burned in protest but he lengthened his stride and sped up, pumping his legs feverishly to get to her. When he was within half of block of her he began shouting her name and the figure moved and he could distinguish a mass of bushy brown curls lifting to look in his direction. The sun was still behind her so she was in silhouette but he knew it was his Hermione.

"Hermione!" He called again. His heart quickened as she took and ran toward him. They met in the middle of the road and she threw herself into his welcoming arms. He instantly felt the tears streaming down her cheeks as she buried her face into his neck. He held her sobbing body tightly, hoping that by holding her in his arms he could somehow hold her together and keep her from crumbling into bits.

Several times he had to resist the temptation to speak. _Chapter Two: __9 times out of 10, Just __Shut up and Listen _had explained, in great detail about how men say the wrong things most of the time. Simply by filtering out most of the things you say before you say it, you increase your odds dramatically. It also explained (slowly and in bold print) that in times of tears, hug first and ask questions later. So he heeded the advice and bit back his need to know right now. He took some comfort in the knowledge that whatever it was, she needed him.

He had no way of telling how long they stood there in the middle of Willow Way. Time meant nothing, it was an ever expanding immeasurable moment as he held her in his arms feeling her sob against his chest. He pressed his lips into her hair and ran his hand over her tangled locks. It wasn't until a car trying to get by honked impatiently that Hermione pulled her head up.

"Oh," she squeaked out sheepishly. She leaned into him and they walked back to the curb she'd been sitting on, Ron supporting most of her weight as they went. She began wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand and Ron fished out a handkerchief from his pocket. She took it without a word as they sat down on the sidewalk.

Ron suddenly realized for the first time in his life how long and ridiculous his arms were. He had no idea of where to put them. He had just participated in the most intimate of embraces with her, holding her against him, touching his lips to the top of her head, it was the closest they'd ever been. Now though, as he sat down next to her, his arms felt foolish.

Should he put his arms around her or had that moment passed? Before he could decide what to do he was sitting a foot away from her and she'd stopped crying though her eyes were still blotched red and puffy from her outburst. Some how she was still beautiful through, perhaps a little more so because of it. He'd never seen her like this. She'd always stomped off to her dorm room or into the closest girls loo. Never had she allowed him into the intimate space that was her pain. He rested with his arms on his knees, ready to hold her again at the slightest provocation.

"I'm so sorry Ron." Hermione's words broke their long silence but before she'd even made out the entire sentence he was stopping her.

"No, just," He pleaded, desperation dripping from his words as he hoped she wouldn't retreat behind her thick protective walls. "please don't apologize. Just talk to me, tell me what's going on."

His words released the flood gates keeping everything inside Hermione and suddenly it all spilled forth in a jumble of words, "...to protect them... ...when I don't return in September... ...to keep information out of the wrong hand... ...just look at Neville's parents, all they'd wanted was information from them..." He was only catching part of what she was saying but it was enough. She was going to do something to keep her parents from being found by Death Eaters. He cut her off when she started off into magical theories of something he couldn't quite make sense of.

"Okay, let's keep them safe, but how?"

Hermione's expression was of pure relief at his words and despite the circumstance that had him there, which he still wasn't clear on, HE, Ron -hand me down and never do anything special- Weasley could bring that look of relief to her face, which moments ago had been distorted in despair.

"I don't think it'll be enough to hide them. Hiding will just prove that their's something worth looking for. They need to go abroad, they need to..." Her voice caught in her throat. "They need to forget me." Her forehead creased, her lips pressed together slowly forming a frown and she once again dropped her chin and she let the tears that had welled in her eyes again spill over.

He froze again, unsure of what to do. He wanted to hold her again, but wasn't sure how to close the space between them. He lifted his hand tentatively, it was like his hand was moving in slow motion. He placed it on her wringing hands. He half expected her to shove it away, or recoil at his touch. Instead she held still, no longer wringing them in anguish. They sat like that for a moment and he felt her shaking calm under his touch. Her body stopped convulsing in sobs and eventually she looked up at him and the tears weren't spilling over anymore.

"What do we do?" He was relieved his voice sounded more confident then he felt.

She explained her plan, give them new memories and send them to Australia. She told him about finding them work and a place to live. She had everything down to the tiniest detail figured out. She seemed to do better as she talked, falling comfortably into the facts and planning she'd obviously been working non stop since returning home. When she was done they sat silently again for a moment. A thought that had been nagging Ron since she'd started her explanation bubbled to the surface in their moment of stillness.

"What do you need _me _for?" he asked quietly. "I have no idea how to even begin half the stuff you just said needed to be done." Hermione frowned again and she looked like she was carefully constructing her next words.

"I don't need your _help_, I just need you _here_. It's not that I won't be able to preform the magic alone, I just _can't_ do this alone." She looked down at her lap sheepishly and even though he knew it was hardly the time for it, his chest swelled with joy at her declaration.

***

Ron was anxious as he sat alone in her room. She had insisted she wanted to perform the actual charms without him. That knowing he was there for her was all she needed. It seemed so odd to be waiting there. In the 6 years they'd been friends he'd never been in her room. She'd been in his room at the burrow, she'd come up to his dorm but never in all that time had he been in a space that was hers. He had imagined what it would be like a few times, what teenage boy hadn't thought of a late night alone with the girl he fancied. But he'd spared no thought to what it would look like in her room. Just what they would be doing. Ron blushed at the remembered fantasies and unconsciously his eyes were drawn to her bed.

She had a large dark wooden four poster bed, "Advantage of being an only child." Ron said to himself. There was no thick hanging like at school to close you off from a crowded dorm. It was open and airy a sheer material winding it self up the two posters at the head leading to a canopy of fabric draped gracefully above. All of her bedding was a crisp white.

Her room was tidy, a rather large odd black plastic book sitting on her desk with a cord coming out the back. She had a bookcase surrounding her window, covering the entire wall and a few plush cushions placed there forming a comfortable bench. It seemed fitting that her room would have a reading nook nestling her within her books.

After the survey of her room was done Ron was bored. He checked his watch, it had been 20 minutes already. His heart went out to her, his mind conjuring images of what she was doing. He was brought out of his reverie by a quiet rapping on the window. He crossed her room quickly when he saw it was Pig tapping his beak against the glass.

"What are you doing here?" He asked the miniature owl when he'd managed to open the window.

In answer to his question pig stuck out his leg which had a tightly rolled piece of parchment secured tightly to his leg, hoping slightly to keep his balance. The owl began hooting happily and fluttering around the room as Ron unfurled the letter.

_Ron,_

_We saw Hermione's letter, you left it on the table. Is everything alright? Where are you? When will you be coming back? Send word back as soon as you can, Mum is freaking out._

_Ginny_

Ron groaned loudly, yes his mother would kill him for leaving without word or warning. He grabbed a quill from the desk and scratched his response on the back of her letter.

_Ginny,_

_Tell mom to keep her knickers on, I'm fine. Hermione just needs my help with something before we come back home. Don't want to say too much in the off chance it's intercepted. We'll return as soon as we're done. Might not be until late, don't wait up for me._

_Ron_

He felt silly, not telling them everything. There had never been a time where there had been taboo's on what he wrote home.

***

It was another hour and a half before she came into her room. It had been a long and anxious wait. He wished he'd brought his new book with him or something. He chucked at the thought that he'd spent all week studying a book and he wouldn't even be able to brag to Hermione about it. She opened the door and stood in the threshold, she looked calm but the hand holding her wand was shaking.

They said nothing, there was no need. He rushed over to her again and with only a moment of shy hesitation he wrapped his arms around her again. He pulled her into the room and closed the door behind him. He felt her convulsing sobs start up again and pulled her deeper into the room setting her down on the foot of her bed. Holding her as close to his heart as he could. He breathed her in deeply, her smell was intoxicating and he couldn't resist once again running his hands her hair, caressing her it gently and occasionally worked up the courage to press his lips to the top of her head that she had snuggled against his worn cotton shirt.

It was a long time before either of them dared to disturb their silence. Ron's mind sifted through dozens of questions but he remembered the advice _'Hug first ask questions later'_ and he kept silent. Holding her. She pulled back a little but left her hands resting on his chest. She bit down on her bottom lip and he found himself momentarily lost in watching her nibble on her lip, imagining how it would feel if she were to bite down on his bottom lip. A silent moan growled in his chest. What would it feel like to pull her supple lip into his own mouth and nibble softly on it. His chest purred again. He was brought back to the moment when his gaze registered the anguish in her eyes. He felt a little guilty about letting his mind wander.

"Thank you Ron, I couldn't have done it without you." her face contorted again but she composed herself quickly and she looked into his eyes, holding his gaze. Without looking away he pulled his hand up and wiped the tear silently escaping her eyes as she blinked, caressing her face with his thumb as he did so.

"I didn't _do_ anything Hermione. I just sat here, doing nothing, just waiting for you." Ron voice sounded as helpless as he felt. He was surprised when she gave him a half smile as if enjoying a private joke.

"That's all I needed."


End file.
